The rise in coups and other types of military intervention in South and Southeast Asia will set back democracy by years and has been met by a weak and ineffective response from major global and regional powers.

Beyond devastating public health, COVID-19 has worsened socioeconomic inequality, possibly for years to come, and exacerbated democratic regression in the United States, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

In an era of intensifying U.S.-China friction and volatility, the risks of conflict are real and growing in East Asia, and U.S. policymakers should revitalize existing tools and build new ones to manage an increasingly militarized competition.